Somewhere far from the extended Hogwarts cinematic universe, Emma Watson has been living. Or perhaps more accurately: pausing; “self-partnering”; the kind of abstracted living that only the extremely famous – and extremely observed – can pull off well. Since that curious 2012–2014 transition period when she began edging out from under the shadow of Hermione Granger, Watson has been engaged in a slow, studious becoming. For a while, it seemed she was trying to prove she could be what everyone wanted: perfect. An idealised woman – earnest, intentional, and soothing, all of which seem to come naturally to her – but an activist too.
Being a woman in the public eye trying to do the right thing has meant that her appearances and statements have often been received with a friction that she herself seldom gives off. As she transitioned from child star to adult celebrity activist, she faced accusations of “white feminism”, questions about her name appearing in the Panama Papers, and demands that her activism be more pointed, more radical, more active. None of it ever entirely stuck. This may be because she comes across as poised, elegant, and relatively well-informed. Or it may be, perhaps, out of a collective sympathy for a woman who had such an unconventional childhood (or rather lacked one altogether, having spent it making and promoting the Harry Potter film franchise). Simultaneously, there was a public feeling that maybe she was just too nice, somehow too perfect. Watson, though, is – like all of us – imperfect, as an activist and as a human. What matters is that she seems to be owning that.
Now, it appears she’s found an equilibrium: she’s returned as a fully-formed Emma Watson, on a single-podcast press tour to promote nothing but herself. A self that is, as one response to her exhaustive new interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast notes, a grown-up version of Hermione: “warm, kind and considerate”. Over the course of nearly three hours, she opens up on everything from acting to trans rights to Palestine. It’s an interview of pragmatism and contemplation – about as explosive as a wet firework.
The interview may be the crowning moment for Watson as the “people’s princess” for millennials. She is, in some ways, distinctly royal (it even occurs to me, watching the interview, how much she now resembles Kate Middleton) – carefully eloquent, slowly working her way through her answers, aware of how they will appear once transcribed and dissected. And yet she’s more human than the royals, more – could it be? – relatable.
It’s hard not to feel some kinship when Watson tells Shetty about not being able to find the work “family” she craved after growing up in a close-knit film cast. “I came to work looking for friendship and that was a very painful experience for me outside of Harry Potter and in Hollywood – like, bone-creakingly painful,” says the actor, who hasn’t appeared in a film since 2019’s Little Women. In a tearful moment, she adds: “The shattering of those expectations broke me. In a way, I’m proud that it did because I guess that means I have something left to break.” Her comments about not being married too felt refreshing and unperformative, particularly for a podcast guest in 2025. (“I’m just so happy not to be divorced yet… I think that we’re being pressured and forced into this thing that I believe is a kind of miracle. I might never be worthy of it.”) That vulnerability continued when discussing her struggles with ADHD, her driving ban (unfortunately quite funny, when the quote “my shame is everywhere” is paired with her crime – driving at 38mph in a 30mph zone), and her reasons for stepping back from acting.
Then, she veers into more contentious territory, namely the two lightning rods of her public image: trans rights and Israel. When the conversation turns to JK Rowling – the author whose strident anti-transgender rhetoric has led many to call for boycotts of Harry Potter media – Watson, who has longstandingly voiced support for trans rights, is careful but candid. She says she still “treasures Jo [Rowling] and the person that I had personal experiences with.” Both Rowling’s anti-trans activism and Watson’s historically close relationship with her can exist, she says: “I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person I don’t get to keep and cherish.” While the remarks have drawn criticism from some circles, largely based on out-of-context headline quotes, there’s a much-needed diplomacy to them. What stands out most, I think, is her openness to future dialogue. “I think the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible,” she adds.
She is, in some ways, distinctly royal – carefully eloquent, slowly working her way through her answers, aware of how they will appear. And yet she’s more human than the royals, more – could it be? – relatable
If that didn’t put her decades of militant media training to work, a discussion about Palestine certainly did. Shetty brings up her 2022 Instagram post expressing solidarity with Palestinians, a relatively benign act that nonetheless drew condemnation from Israeli officials. At the time, Danny Danon, the former science minister in Netanyahu’s government and Israeli ambassador to the UN, tweeted: “10 points from Gryffindor for being an antisemite.” Watson now reflects that “what concerned me at the time was the way that label [antisemitism] was used. Even now, I see that playing out – where people don’t feel like they can talk about what’s happening safely.”
Some could argue (and have already argued) that Watson is still trying to have it both ways with her answers to difficult questions. But maybe that says as much about her as it does the state of things – that politics has become so scorched and exhausting that even a soft, balanced tone now feels like something worth clinging to.
Watson has taken her fair share of beatings online for trying to introduce nuance into conversations that reward a degree of spice; for speaking carefully to potentially appeal to centrists, to the undecided, to the disappointed and unbothered. It’s no surprise, then, that she’s leaning harder than ever into a kind of heartfelt, humanist framework.
A decade ago, the internet might have called her quotes twee, privileged, a performance of thoughtfulness rather than the real thing. But in the jagged climate of the mid-2020s, there’s something quietly resonant about a former child star still making an effort to get it right. She may have stepped away from acting and distanced herself from the machine that raised her, but with this interview, one thing feels newly certain: Emma Watson is the most compelling figure to emerge from the Potter cast. Not because she’s perfect but because she’s trying.
